Accredited investors

An accredited or sophisticated investor is an investor with a special status under financial regulation laws. The definition of an accredited investor (if any), and the consequences of being classified as such, vary between countries. Generally, accredited investors include high-net-worth individuals, banks, and other large corporations, who have access to complex and higher-risk investments such as venture capital, hedge funds and angel investments.

The ostensible purpose of the status designation is to protect potential investors from risk. The assumption underlying accreditation is that individuals or organizations who qualify will have sufficient financial sophistication to understand and take on the risks associated with certain investment offerings. Laws may require that some types of financial offerings may only be made to accredited investors.

s 708(8) of the Corporations Act 2001 is found in Chapter 6D (Fundraising). It defines "sophisticated investor" so as to exclude them from certain disclosure requirements.

That section provides for an accountant to issue a certificate stating that an individual meets the criteria prescribed in the Corporations Regulations 2001, namely net assets of at least $2.5 million, or a gross income for each of the last 2 financial years of at least $250,000.

There is a second definition of "sophisticated investor" in s 761GA of the Corporations Act 2001 in Chapter 7 (Financial services and markets). It defines sophisticated investors so that they can be treated as wholesale (rather than retail) clients.

According to ASIC, a person with a sophisticated investor certificate is a sophisticated investor for the purpose of Chapter 6D, and a wholesale client for the purpose of Chapter 7.

An "Accredited Investor" in Brazil is defined in the instruction 409, article 109 from the CVM (Comissão de Valores Mobiliários) as:

An "Accredited Investor" (as defined in NI 45 106) is:

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